Fate, The Cruelest Thing
by DeathRace6000
Summary: Sixteen year old Princess Serenity has her whole life laid out for her; she'll marry her brother Demando, inherit the throne to the Moon Kingdom, and ensure her bloodline remains pure. But a masked stranger, an unrequited love, and a desire to take fate into her own hands threaten to turn everything upside down.


I've had this story in progress for quite a while, and never could muster the courage to submit it because it just felt _different _somehow. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it!

******Fate, The Cruelest Thing**

**Chapter I: Gift Of The Gods**

"The gods have blessed you, my Queen"

"To provide you with son and a daughter…"

"The Lunar bloodline can remain pure"

Queen Serenity rocked the baby in her arms back and forth. The fabric of the silver blanket the baby was wrapped in spilled over onto the floor, giving an appearance similar to liquid metal. She looked out the window and onto the city below with a twinge of sadness in her wise eyes. It was a blessing, yet a curse that she had two children of opposite genders. For sure the Priestesses would wish for them to continue the bloodline. She placed a tender kiss on her daughter's brow. This wasn't what she had wanted for her. To live a life with a fate written in stone, to have decisions be made without her approval, with no opportunity to fall in love…was she evil for condemning to her to such an existence? There was no doubt Serenity didn't deserve it and it was absolutely not fair, but the Queen could not bring herself to argue with the three women who stood behind her cheering in utter bliss for the gift of the gods.

"Perhaps we'll bring in the Prince so he can meet his sister. I'm sure he'll-"

"No" Queen Serenity said, her tone clipped. "The Princess needs to rest"

Serenity squirmed in her arms and the Queen hugged her to her breast. She bowed her head, and whispered to her daughter words that didn't seem to even make up for the caged future that she had brought upon the Princess.

"I'm so sorry"

* * *

A house divided. The worst thing in the world had come true. Somehow she had guessed everything would not go according to plan, but it didn't hurt to hope, right? _No, I should have seen the signs,_ Queen Serenity thought to herself as she looked sorrowfully upon her son who stood on the balcony waving at his newfound followers. His eyes were glittering with a newfound hunger, matched by the obsidian crescent on his forehead. Just a day before it had been golden like the sunbeams that rained upon the Moon. It was almost humorous how things could change so quickly; how things could go so _wrong_.

"Is something wrong, my Queen? You seem troubled" the High Priestess, Riyaki, asked.

"This has proved to impede our carefully laid out plans. I fear that Serenity will not take too fondly to him now in this state"

"I do not understand why you see this as a problematic event. It has been centuries since we've had a dark one; no doubt that this union will prove to strengthen the royal bloodline like it has in the past"

One of the many reasons Serenity didn't like Riyaki had all to do with her simple lack of consciousness for others' feelings. She saw all of this as the dawn of a new, stronger era; completely oblivious to the two it would hurt in the process. Her poor Demando, her poor son, and even worse, her poor daughter, Serenity. She had already been so against marrying her brother, even if it was for the sake of their people. How were they supposed to tell her to marry a man who no one was sure of how dark he'd become? He still looked the same, his silver hair still shone brightly in the plentiful sunlight, but those eyes. Still violet, still beautiful, but behind them lurked something unknown to all, something dark.

Was it just her that thought this was a terrible twist of events? Her people loved him this way, or at least some of them did, and the Priestesses all rejoiced. Perhaps it was just her negative outlook that was marring this whole thing. Perhaps it was all in her mind.

She still couldn't shake the sinking feeling, though, when he turned towards her and called her name.

* * *

"Luna! It's much too tight!" Princess Serenity squeaked as her caretaker, tutor, and second mother tightened the corset around her torso.

"It's supposed to be this way. You'll become accustomed to it. Now breathe in"

Serenity let out another cry as Luna pulled the strings once more. Why must she wear a corset? She'd never had to before. But, of course, her mother said that it was only proper for a lady to, and so she was forced into the uncomfortable garment.

"Are you excited for the ball tonight?" Luna asked, in an effort to make small talk.

"Ball? What ball?"

"Your engagement ball, of course"

The young girl fell silent. She had known from a young age everything that would come to pass; who she'd marry especially. She _had_ liked her brother when she was younger; he had always doted on her and made her feel special, but eventually that bond had been broken and in it's place stood cold respect. There wasn't anything between them, but to the bystanders, this marriage had not a single thing to do with love. Still though, couldn't she have been given one more year? Just one? One year to see the world, to see other worlds; that was all she wanted. She'd gladly hush up and marry Demando if it meant the opportunity to leave the palace, travel to far away places, and best of all: make friends.

"Serenity, I know you are not fond of this union, neither am I, but it is imperative that it happens"

"I am aware of that Luna, but I'm only sixteen! I want a chance to live on my own and be in control of my own fate, if for only a moment!"

Luna reeled back in shock, with no words to say. The Princess wasn't the one to be vocal about her opinions, not usually at least. Something was amiss, that was for sure. She was sure she knew just what too.

"It's because he's gone dark; isn't it?"

"No. Not at all! I just-"

Serenity sighed and fell back onto her bed. Overhead, she was greeted by the elaborate designs etched into the silver ceilings. She curled up into a ball on the fluffy duvet and squeezed her eyes shut. If only she could get away from all of this; if only she could be free. The palace was her cage, beautiful to look at, but a cage nonetheless. How many times had she wished that she wasn't a Princess? Why was fate so cruel to her? Couldn't she just be a normal girl?

"You don't like that you're going to have to marry someone who could possibly be evil"

Once again, she had hit it right on the spot. Why did Luna always have to be so right? Why did she have to know her _that _well? That wasn't the only reason she didn't want to marry Demando, there were plenty of others, but that one...that was the one she'd tried to bury. He wasn't like her anymore, he was something dark and foreign.

He was no longer himself.

By the way he looked at people, by the way his words and speech had become so eloquent yet flirtatious, seductive and completely sinister, by the way he had become so possessive. At any given moment, she could expect his hands to fall on her shoulders and hear him whisper mellifluous words that she could care less about.

All of that was what had went wrong.

"I'll do whatever they all want me to do" she said, coldly. "But, I will _never_ fall in love with that monster"

**End Chapter I**

Although it's short and kind of choppy, I needed to set the scene this way. I promise the next chapter will be longer and be a single event! Thank you for reading. Please review!


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